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This year, the Operations Management Club is providing new twists to its normal menu of educational and recruiting events. The popular tours of local manufacturing and service operations in the Ann Arbor metropolitan area will still be offered, but the 1997-98 club officers have decided that more value-added services need to be provided.
One such service will be "informational sheets" on companies who are making corporate presentations during the week. The company information will be provided for operations and general management positions with companies and consulting firms. The information will provide to the club members a little more depth during the presentation and provide excellent talking points during the presentations and receptions.
The club is providing MBA1s and MBA2s an opportunity to have contact with recruiters during receptions and sidestep those first few nervous moments of small talk by developing an Operations Management Information Package. The OM info-pak will contain information on the OM Club, its members, and OCD information on the recruiting firm. The package also inquires if the firm is interested in sponsoring any events during the Winter Semester or during the 1998-99 calendar year, as well as their corporate and position information. So instead of approaching a recruiter after a corporate presentation with the same old "MBA question", an OM Club member will have a different angle and a perfect way to differentiate themselves.
The OM Club this year is also sponsoring panels on two of the largest growing practices in consulting and business management. The first panel on September 26 is on "Supply Chain Management." Price Waterhouse and Ryder Logistics have already confirmed, and the OM Club is still waiting to hear back from Arthur D. Little, AlliedSignal and Andersen Consulting. The second panel, tentatively scheduled for October 3, is titled "Operations and Information Management." This panel will explore SAP implementation and will include speakers from consulting, industry, and SAP.
The OM Club Officers also decided that value-added services are necessary outside the academic setting. To this end, the OM Club has set up golf lessons with U-M driving range golf pro Mark Rudy at 5:00 p.m. on September 11 and 18 and at 10:00 a.m. on September 12. The lessons consist of working with the golf pro for 45 minutes, all the balls you can hit, and a maximum of ten people in the lesson. All this is provided for $10 per lesson plus an OM Club membership. Not a bad value- added proposition considering a bucket of balls at the driving range will cost you $7.
If you are interested in these events and the value added transforming process within the firm come to the Operations Management Club kickoff meeting on September 10 at 6:00 p.m. in K1320.
There has been something strange about the Ann Arbor atmosphere over the past couple of weeks. Only those who are entering their third or fourth year here at the university can truly understand why this is so. The campus has been missing the lifeblood that makes Ann Arbor a different world from the one that exists once the cold, dark days of winter set in. The outside observer may not know why, but there is an important reason why this September has thus far not seemed like a normal September in Ann Arbor . . . the football season is starting later than usual this year.
If one allows oneself to get superstitious for a moment, it could be rationalized that the late start to the season could signal a change from the recent past, during which the Michigan football team has disappointed with four consecutive four-loss seasons. Each of the past three seasons began with early wins, which gave many disillusioned fans naive hopes that "this could be the year." Yet as each season wore on, the team always managed to lose its concentration, and, with it, games that it had no business losing.
So through the magic of sports superstition, it makes perfect sense that such should not be the case this year. But when heading on the road back to reality, it's necessary to take a look at some of the teams on this year's schedule: Colorado, Notre Dame, Northwestern, Iowa, and Ohio State at home; Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Penn State on the road. Hmmm . . . maybe it would be best if the season's start could be pushed back even further.
Unfortunately, Michigan is in the unenviable position of beginning the nation's toughest schedule this Saturday against a very good Colorado team that has a game's experience under its belt. And although playing one of the nation's top teams is not the most recommended way to start off, this game will nevertheless provide immediate indications as to how good this Michigan team really is. This will hopefully bring to an end the broad range of speculation concerning how the Wolverines will fare here in 1997.
Of course, being that there are five days left until the season's beginning, there is still a small window of opportunity for throwing out more blind predictions about the upcoming season. Some predictions are easy. Michigan will lose to a lesser team in a game which they enter overconfident (see Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Purdue the last three years). The offense will sputter due it's conservatism and predictability. Whoever is punting will disappoint. People will be calling for Lloyd Carr to step down. Charles Woodson will be good.
However, trying to make a premature evaluation as to how this team will look is nearly impossible. There is simply too much uncertainty and confusion surrounding who is?and who should be?playing each game. The most uncertainty surrounds the offensive line, which must replace three starters from a year ago.
While the line may be the most uncertain, the quarterback position is surrounded with the most confusion. Although no starter has been named, speculation around campus is that Brian Griese will get the nod at the starting spot. This would be bad decision number one by Coach Carr. Griese has rarely looked any better than mediocre. He has a weak arm, and more importantly, lacks the athleticism to make a play out of nothing when he gets in trouble. His game also seems to drop another level when the offense is in the red zone. Supporters state that he has the ability to win big games, pointing to two victories over Ohio State. But giving him credit for those games would mean giving him credit for Tim Biakabutuka's 313 yards in the first game, and for Shawn Springs' slip and fall in the second game that allowed Tai Streets an easy, long touchdown.
Not that I'm going to sit here and proclaim that Scott Dreisbach is the second coming. His arm lacks accuracy, and he doesn't seem to see his second and third receivers very well. But choosing Dreisbach is like choosing the lesser of two evils. With his athleticism, he is more of a weapon in the red zone than Griese is. And with the maturity that often comes during the transition between one's sophomore and junior years, he may start to show more of the upside to his game which thus far has been nothing more than unfulfilled potential.
The rest of the offense is just a little less uncertain. The most talented running back is freshman Anthony Thomas. He will see significant action, but he won't be starting early in the season. The battle for that spot is between good (but not great) Chris Howard, and the quick (but easy to tackle) Clarence Williams.
Tai Streets and Russell Shaw both return at wide receiver. But the team's best wideout is Charles Woodson. Despite the fact that he is a defensive back, he is one of 31 nominees, along with Streets, for the Fred Biletnikoff Award, which is given annually to the nation's top receiver. If he does see significant playing time at receiver this year (he had 13 receptions last year), he would add significant firepower to the offense. The best returning receiver may actually be Jerame Tuman, an all-America candidate at tight end.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Wolverines return eight starters. The strength resides in the secondary, where Woodson and Marcus Ray anchor one the country's best defensive backfields. However, Michigan must also be able to replace the leadership of Jarret Irons and Will Carr, who both graduated, as well as the athleticism of defensive end David Bowens, who left school for academic reasons.
Taking all of this into account, the outlook for the Wolverines is the same this year as it is almost every year. As usual, questions concerning youth and ability surround one or two key positions, while the rest of the team possesses a wealth of talent. The key to the season resides not as much in the hands of the players as it does in the decisions of the coaches. If precedent offers any perspective on this, it could be another disappointing season for Lloyd Carr and his beloved team.
Looking for exciting and social entertainment that is uniquely Michigan? Consider season hockey tickets.
Two years ago, I stumbled in the door and dropped my books on the apartment floor after completing the first week of classes at Michigan. Orientation, UMBSA parties, and lack of sleep had taken their toll as I collapsed into the couch. My new Canadian roommate hung up the phone and asked "Do you want to get Michigan Hockey season tickets?" I was never a big hockey fan, but he was obviously excited so I told him to sign me up.
The next day the MBA2 organizing the ticket purchase called and said that the B-school would be waiting in line to buy tickets...our shift was from 2:00 to 4:00 a.m.! I graduated from Lehigh, a small school where they entice students to attend sporting events by giving away free tickets. I could not believe that this Michigan lunatic wanted me to wait in line at 2 o'clock in the morning for tickets. It was a bad nightmare: the little kid in second grade who had to be first-in-line had grown up and was in charge.
As we walked to the Michigan Union at 2:00 a.m. I was ready for a lonely two hour shift. To my surprise there were 2000 hockey fans with tents, hibachis, and sleeping bags living in line. Now I was eager to watch a hockey game that so many people were willing to camp out for.
Well, I wasn't disappointed. The hockey games are an event unto themselves with incredible fans who redefine "enthusiasm" with their cheers and antics. I left the first game with my voice hoarse from cheering and my sides in pain from laughing. It was great.
Other MBAs began to hear how fun the hockey games were but they were
too late, the hockey tickets were sold out. Fortunately, you no longer
have to wait in lines to buy season tickets, just follow the directions
in the MBA2 HOCKEY mailfolder - $70 checks due by September 10. If you
have any questions, please send me an e-mail at mjdiener@umich.edu. I hope
you join us in the fun and excitement of Michigan Hockey and become its
newest fan. GO BLUE!
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Well, it's now football season, and the focus should be on the fact that U-M has one of the hardest schedules in the country yet again. If you don't believe the schedule is difficult, here's some proof. For each of Sports Illustrated's Top 20 college football teams, the magazine listed the two key match-ups for the upcoming season. U-M made it onto five schools' lists: Penn State, Colorado, Ohio State, Notre Dame, and Michigan State.
But all of that can wait for another time, probably after our beloved Wolverines have dropped a few of those meetings. I have other topics to talk about. I was deprived of this column throughout the summer months and thus have a lot of pent up ranting about the sports world I just have to vent, so bear with me.
(1) Tyson vs. Holyfield II. Heavyweight boxing is just incredible. I would say it is impossible for the sport to sink any further, but every time I say so, it manages to reach greater depths. It's as if boxing is trying to rebuke me, so I refuse to claim it can go any lower, because I'm afraid to see where that is. As for the actual incident, every joke has already been made, so I won't add my biting commentary. If you must, you can insert your favorite joke hear--oops! I mean here.
(2) The WNBA. They got next, and they can have it. I will give credit to the WNBA for its marketing prowess and genuine excitement at the games. I was in attendance at the New York Liberty home opener in Madison Square Garden, and there was electricity in the air. It was louder than some Knicks games. However, I had to agree with the anonymous fan sitting next to me, who asked me at one of these outbursts, "Are they watching the same game I am?"
Bottom line ? the crowd was there, the quality of play was not. The WNBA and the ABL, the other women's professional basketball league, should merge because each has something the other needs. The WNBA has clout and the ABL actually has skills. Together it could be a decent league. Apart, I never see the talented ABL and get inundated with the lesser-caliber WNBA.
(3) Interleague Play. I still have not recovered my baseball fandom since the 1994 strike. Interleague play is cute, but its just a quick way to grab a few bucks. I don't mind the limited play that exists now, but its initial success has encouraged the baseball owners to radically realign the leagues ending the history of the National and American Leagues. History is all that baseball has left. The mystique of the All-Star Game and World Series is the only unique identifier of this league. With realignment, all that history is gone, much like baseball's fan base. Think about it. Yeah, the Yankees-Mets games sold out and caused a lot of excitement in New York. Would that still be the case when they play each other 18 times a year as members of the same division? Or for that matter, does New York really want to see the Phillies a combination of 36 times in a year?
(4) Hideki Irabu. Speaking of Yankees and Phillies. Irabu may not want to see Philadelphia anytime soon. The Phillies are just the latest in a series of teams to prove that this phenom from Japan is not as good as his hype. Japan's Nolan Ryan is not even nearly as good as Japan's Hideo Nomo. Plus he's a lot less tolerable. Think the Padres are still complaining that Irabu would play only for the Yankees?
(5) Sports Figures Arrests. Allen Iverson. Barry Switzer. Marcus Camby. Terry Allen. Bruce Smith. Rod Strickland. Two things in common. They are all prominent sports figures and they have all recently been arrested. Mostly for driving under the influence (Camby, Allen, Smith, Strickland), some on gun charges (Switzer), some for a little of both (Iverson, alright, he wasn't driving, but he had a gun and marijuana and his car was speeding). I can't tell if I'm watching SportsCenter or America's Most Wanted. I'm really just waiting for Nike to come out with signature handcuffs. Just do community service.
(6) Bulls vs. Jazz. An insomniac's dream. The Jazz have about as much flash as a Snap 'N' Pop. Dennis Rodman displayed more diversity and color in his hair than the entire Delta Center crowd. Michael Jordan was of course Michael Jordan. He beat them while coming down with the flu. Mike?you're the best ever. We all know it. Please, please, please retire soon. Give someone else a chance. This broken record is getting old. Oh, and take Karl Malone with you.
(7) Wimbledon. Anyone see it? Anyone care? Anyone?
(8) Kevin Garnett. The 21-year-old star forward for the Minnesota Timberwolves turned down a six-year, $103.5 million contract. That's $1,968 an hour. Every hour. For the entire six-year period. Awake. Asleep. Practicing. Hanging out. $1,968 an hour. C'mon, Kevin, it can't be that cold in Minneapolis, can it? The rumor is he just wants to leave Minneapolis and head home to Chicago next year when he is a free agent and Mike retires after his one-year, $33 million dollar extension. If that is the case, Garnett would have the distinct honor of playing for . . .
(9) Jerry Reinsdorf. Owner of the Chicago Bulls. The man who wins his fifth title in seven years and then proceeds to leave the three people who delivered those titles (Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson, and Scottie Pippen) on a string for most of the Summer, with Pippen still hanging out to dry. Amazingly, that is not why he made the list. He makes the list for what he did to his other professional sports team, the Chicago White Sox.
Approaching the trading deadline, his White Sox were just 3.5 games behind the AL Central-leading Cleveland Indians after an atrocious start to the season. His team was in position to make a move that would prime them for a pennant run. Instead, he trades trusty DH Harold Baines back to the Baltimore Orioles and then trades the heart of his pitching staff, Danny Darwin, Roberto Hernandez and Wilson Alvarez, to the San Francisco Giants for six minor league players, in effect cutting the White Sox season short. His rationale, you ask? He claims that anyone who thinks his team could catch the Indians is crazy. Call me crazy, but I don't think 3.5 games is a lot to make up with over 50 to play.
Reinsdorf realized that advanced ticket sales were close to his season goal and this would be a tremendous cost-cutting move. Maybe he needed the money to pay Mike $33 million this year to deliver a sixth NBA title.
(10) PGA Golf. The one bright spot in an otherwise dismal summer. Ernie Els and Justin Leonard stood up and accepted the Tiger Woods Challenge. It looks like the kid is going to face stiff competition after all. The Ryder Cup should be one of the more exciting sporting events this fall.
That, and football season is back.`
Fore! UMBS Supports Habitat for Humanity is kicking off the school year at Fox Hills Country Club with its first annual charity golf tournament?Chip In For Housing?on Sunday, September 28. The Habitat Club was founded last year in response to an inspiring story of a prior UMBS class that successfully sponsored the construction of a house in Washtenaw County with Habitat For Humanity of Huron Valley. The Habitat Club plans to encourage MBA and BBA students to play an active role in the local community by sponsoring a new home annually.
To meet the sponsorship obligation for this school year, the Class of 1998 needs to accumulate approximately $45,000 and coordinate almost 3,000 hours of volunteer time. To date, the UMBS community has contributed almost one-half of the monetary goal and a quarter of the labor goal. One of the big challenges the Habitat Club faces is raising the remaining construction funds. "Chip In For Housing" will help the club meet its commitment to Habitat for Humanity this year in a fun event, and MBA and BBA students' sweat equity will take care of the home construction.
"Chip In For Housing" will take place the day after the Michigan-Notre Dame football game. Students, faculty, staff, alumni, and corporate representatives are encouraged to participate. It will utilize a scramble format, whereby members of a team hit each shot from wherever their team's best previous shot lies. This format allows for players of all abilities to contribute. In addition, there will be several contests for the competitive type-A people, such as Best Score, Longest Drive, Closest-to-the-Pin, and Hole-in-One.
The registration deadline is September 10. A signup table will be in the Student Lounge during lunch hours this week, and a box of registration forms will also be available. To hear more about this event and other activities of the UMBS Supports Habitat For Humanity Club, plan to attend the first meeting on September 8 at 6:30 p.m. in B1270. See you out on the links!